All business owners will transition their business at some point in the future. Whether it is a transfer within their family, such as to the next generation, or to an existing business partner or employee, or sold to a competitor or outside investor, transition will occur. Just as successfully run businesses do not happen overnight, transitioning well cannot happen without devoting the necessary focus and intentionality.
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In a competitive global marketplace, employers across the United States spend countless resources attempting to set themselves apart and claim their share of available business opportunities. Against that backdrop, it is easy to understand why employers will do everything possible to protect the confidential information they have created and the goodwill they have built with their customers. Employees are a critical element in building that success, but they can also be well-positioned to undermine such efforts when a relationship turns sour or where they are courted by a competitor.
In May 2017, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Although at this point it is just a bill and not the law, the House bill provides insights into what the future may hold for employer plans. If the bill is passed, there are ten key points that impact employer-sponsored benefit plans, including modified continuous coverage requirement for pre-existing conditions, cafeteria plan changes, and elimination of additional medicare tax.
To ensure you are on the right track when buying and maximizing valuations when selling, it is important to minimize mistakes during the due diligence and direct investment process. As a part of that process, there are ten top ways that can help maximize value, including exercising discipline when reviewing a target’s commercial, operational and financial aspects.
A board of directors is more than just a legal formality that meets four times a year. When used to its full potential, a well-designed board can help you grow your business, serve your shareholders, and maximize the effectiveness of your management.
Thomas Calandra, who is in his mid-twenties, is the owner of Calandra Enterprises. At least that’s how he introduces himself to customers and clients of the bakeries, hotels, and restaurants he runs with his sister, father, uncle, and grandfather. Thomas credits his family business’s success to his grandfather’s hard work, determination, and artistry. He and his sister vow not to be like other family-owned businesses that rise in the hands of the elders and crumble in the hands of the grandchildren.
Most family businesses take on the characteristics of their founder or founding family, especially in their formative years. This changes as the company grows and the founder begins to transition ownership and control to future generations. To guide the business succession transition forward on a successful path, there needs to be a family governance plan to establish a framework for joint decision-making among family members based on shared values, a common mission or purpose, and a collective vision for the family’s future.
Creating a truly effective board doesn’t happen by accident. From selecting the right people, to running crisp meetings, to fostering good working relationships with management and one another—boards are tasked with many decisions that impact how well they function. Over time, boards fall into routines for how they operate. But how many regularly look at their governance practices to see if they are as good as they could be?
An at-a-glance summary of the 2017 Global Entrepreneur Report that draws upon the views of 2,650 successful business owners across 21 countries and explores their characteristics, actions and ambitions. In addition, the Report examines the differing approaches of five business owner profiles: the Millennipreneurs, the Women Entrepreneurs, the Ultrapreneurs, the Serial Entrepreneurs and the Boomerpreneurs.
As the benefits and capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT) accrue, so does the amount of data that must be collected, managed, and integrated with connected devices—and by enterprises everywhere. It’s a challenge that demands a new kind of digital trust and data sharing tradeoffs. For more insights from this IoT series, see: